A former employee at Baylor University is being penalized by the NCAA for a series of sports betting infractions involving the school and its student-athletes.
Sam Hancock, a former director of resource development at Baylor, has been issued a two-year show-cause order by the NCAA for placing impermissible daily fantasy sports wagers on professional and amateur sports. According to the NCAA, Hancock placed 2,950 impermissible bets between July 2019 and September 2024 while employed at Baylor.
The illicit wagers, placed across three different DFS platforms, totaled $45,979. The DFS wagers included 113 bets involving Baylor teams and student-athletes despite Hancock being informed by Baylor of the NCAA’s rules and standards concerning sports betting.
Hancock informed the NCAA that he wagered with DFS and sports betting platforms before his time at Baylor but continued to wager on pro and amateur sports after he was hired.
The NCAA determined that Hancock violated Bylaw 10.3, which bans sports wagering activities by staff members of an institution’s athletics department, student-athletes, and nonathletic department staff members who have responsibilities within athletics.
Hancock also violated Bylaw 10.01.1, an NCAA rule that requires “individuals employed by (or associated with) a member institution to administer, conduct or coach intercollegiate athletics and all participating student-athletes shall act with honesty and sportsmanship at all times.” The bylaw is in place to ensure integrity and fair play within NCAA competitions.
Hancock, who was hired as a senior director of development & annual giving at Wichita State, is required to serve a two-week suspension during the first year of employment within the two-year show-cause period. As a result, he is temporarily barred from participating in any athletics activity, including speaking with development staff members. He is also temporarily banned from communicating with athletic staff and student-athletes.
The NCAA’s penalty also requires Hancock to participate in gambling counseling and attend its Regional Rules Seminars, which will be an out-of-pocket expense.
The two-year show-cause order runs from April 10, 2025, through April 9, 2027.
Other related NCAA infractions
Last month, the University of Texas athletics department self-reported five NCAA violations related to improper sports betting. The infractions, which occurred between July 2024 and November 2024, were caused by two unnamed football players, a staff member, a student assistant and a person associated with the institution’s women’s tennis program.
The five individuals used PrizePicks to bet on sports with the group spending $14,885.
Mississippi State also recently violated NCAA bylaws after a male practice squad player for the women’s basketball team placed six bets worth $10 on the NFL and college football.
The wagers, placed in September 2024, did not involve any Mississippi State contest.
